


All Dogs Go To Heaven

by Writerleft



Series: Comes Marching Home [71]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Family, Grown Up, Korrasami - Freeform, Korrasami Month 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 17:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17026899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/pseuds/Writerleft
Summary: After nearly a year, Korra hasn't gotten over the loss of her best and oldest friend... but her son enlists the rest of the family in an idea that just might cheer her up.





	All Dogs Go To Heaven

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Puppy Dog Eyes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8628580) by [Writerleft](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writerleft/pseuds/Writerleft). 



“Bro!” Mian shouted, clamping her arms around her brother as he stepped through the door.

“Hey, short stuff,” he chuckled, unable to hug her back due to the suitcase in each hand.  

She let him go, then took a step back to look at him without straining her neck. “You know, you’re gone so long these days, I start to forget how unreasonably _tall_ you are.”

“That’s too bad,” he said, setting his suitcase down and pulling off his beanie. “I never forget how unreasonably sassy _you_ are.”

Mian stuck out her tongue, and winked.

Zin glanced around. Neither of their moms had come out to greet him, and Mian had made enough noise to make his entry known. “Where’re our moms?”

“Across the way,” Mian said with a sigh, pointing over her shoulder at the rooftop park Asami had had built for Naga.

Zin nodded. It had been nearly a year since Naga had passed, and while he missed the giant fluffmonster, Mian had cried for a full day, but Korra… Korra had been devastated. Naga had been much more than a pet, after all, and the fact that she’d survived far longer than polarbear dogs had any real right to was no consolation.

“About that,” Zin said. “I need to talk to Asami alone about something.

Mian frowned. “Okay…”

Zin shook his head. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Then you can tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell yet,” he said, stepping past her into their moms’ apartment. “Just questions to ask.”

“Is it about a girl?”

“No.”

“A boy?”

“Stop.”

“Zin!”

He strode onto the balcony, squinting to see if he could make them out.

“Zin, I swear, if you don’t tell me I’ll make sure they’re inseparable the whole time you’re here.”

“Mian,” Zin frowned. “Really?”

“You know that’s not hard to do.”

“Can you just… trust me on this? Please? I’ll loop you in as soon as I know more.”

A woman in blue became visible across the way. She started waving, frantically, with both arms.

“Ugh! Fine,” Mian said. “I’ll help you out.”

“Thanks,” Zin said, waving back at Korra as Asami joined her. “Anyway, how’s school going? Seeing anyone these days?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I see. Then I shall respect your boundaries and try to keep our moms from bringing it up as well.”

Mian laughed, elbowing his waist. “Jerk.”

 

\--

 

“So,” Asami asked, shutting the door to her study. “What’s this about?”

Zin blinked. “About?”

Asami motioned for him to pull up the spare chair, and sat at her drafting table. “Zin. Do you really expect me to believe Mian suddenly _needed_ Korra to teach her how to make sweet buns? The last time I heard her talking about sweet buns, she was referring to her ex-girlfriend.”  

Zin snorted. “Ex-girlfriend? She and Nanda broke up?”

“A few months ago,” Asami chuckled. “It was clean, though, still friends. Back to my question?”

“Right,” Zin said, his hands on his knees as he composed himself. “You and Korra were over in Naga’s park when I got here. She still go there often?”

Asami sighed, which was answer enough even before she nodded. “She claims its to meditate, but sometimes, when she comes back, I can tell she’s been crying. She does that too-happy sorta mood where she doesn’t want anybody to worry. Senna asked if maybe she might consider a new animal companion, and she wouldn’t talk to her for a month.”

Zin hung his head for a moment, bringing his hands together as he thought. Naga had been with Korra for almost forty years… that wasn’t the sort of loss you could recover from quickly. Naga was more than a pet, she was almost like a sibling, and especially for a lonely only child like Korra had been…

“I was reading about Avatar Roku,” Zin said. “The Fire Sages managed to save a lot of information from his own time, but they also documented anything relevant that came up after.”

“I can’t imagine there’s too much to add, two hundred years after he died,” Asami chuckled.

“Well… besides updating the family tree with his descendents.”

Asami winced, leaning forward to touch his hand. “Zin, I’m so sorry, I hadn’t considered--”

He shook his head, putting his hand on hers. “It’s okay, mom. That was years ago and… not what I want to talk about.”

Asami nodded.

Zin took a breath, and pushed the old images of the exploding Fire Nation Palace out of mind. “Avatar Aang was aided on several occasions by Avatar Roku’s spirit.”

“Right… he told him about the comet, and the Avatar State. But Korra no longer has connections to past Avatars.”  

“Perhaps not--but do you remember _how_ Avatar Roku contacted Avatar Aang?”

Asami frowned. “It… something to do with the solstice, I think? He was helping a town deal with a spirit problem, then he went to the spirit world, and Roku was there?”

“Not quite. He had to go to the Fire Sage temple. The original one, on Crescent Island.”

Asami snapped her fingers. “That’s right! Roku couldn’t talk to him, he sent a message through his dragon...” Her eyes got wide. She stared at Zin, having the same thought he had.

“I’m not sure if there’s anything there,” Zin said. “I’ve done the research I could where I was, and while I’m in town I want to talk to Jinora, maybe go through the Spirit Portal myself…”

“You can’t let her know about this,” Asami said. “Not unless you’re sure.”

That’s what he’d been afraid of. “It might not be possible to _be_ sure, without involving her. It could be an Avatar thing to begin with. But the solstice _is_ coming up…”

“I’ll keep Korra occupied tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“Take Mian with you.”

Zin blinked. “Mian hates spiritual stuff.”

“She’s better at research than you give her credit for. And it’ll be much harder to explain why only one of our children isn’t hanging around.”

“Won’t she suspect something’s up?”

“Probably,” Asami shrugged. “But she’ll probably expect it’s just you two preparing a surprise for her.”

“She wouldn’t be wrong,” Zin said.

 

\--

 

“So, this is all based on an Aang story,” Mian said, framing Air Temple Island in her viewfinder  as the ferry approached. She wasn’t taking pictures--she’d taken so many of the years, she said she’d rather save the film--but she loved framing shots.  “Are you sure you get enough air up at that altitude?”

“The Fire Sage temple is barely above sea level.”

“Bro.”

Zin grunted. “I forgot how often you work those height jabs in.”

“Well, you should visit more! Mom would _give_ you a plane, if you asked.”

“I don’t think Future Industries builds one that would fit my frame,” Zin chuckled.

Mian smirked, leaning against the rail beside him. “It’s sweet, though. Crazy, but sweet.”

“Spiritual matters are not ‘crazy,’ simply difficult for humans to understand.”

“You weren’t even that attached to the fluffmonster.”

“I liked Naga!”

“Yeah.” Mian snorted. “ _Liked_.”

“Just because I didn’t enjoy slobber like the rest of you--”

“Admit it--you don’t trust any animals taller than you are.”

“I like small cuddly animals that _don’t_ require entire dumpsters to dispose of their weekly leavings. So yeah, give me a fire ferret or a cat or a lemur any day, but Naga was still _family_.”

Mian smirked, then punched him in the arm. “Big softie.”

“I do try,” Zin said, as the ferry coasted up to the dock.

“So… which of those three would you trade _me_ for?” Mian asked.

“Oh, are we trading siblings?” a little girl asked from the dock.

“Now, now, Kayo,” another voice said, as Jinora appeared right in front of Zin and Mian. “Be nice.”

 

“Flameo!” Mian muttered, having nearly jumped overboard at her sudden, spiritual arrival.

Kayo leapt over the railing, bounding right through her mother’s projection. Her arms windmilled for a moment as she regained her balance, as she continued, “I have a little sister I’ll trade!”

Zin knelt to greet her, while Mian glared at Jinora. “You enjoy scaring people with that. Admit it.”

Jinora touched her chest, feigning shock. “I would never. I simply wanted to keep an eye on Kayo after I sent her to get you.”

“You knew we were coming?” Zin asked.

“I called ahead,” Mian replied, as if it were obvious. “You’ve got a spirity question. She’s _Miss_ Spirity. As you can see.”

Kayo gave Zin a hug once his shoulders were in range. “Is there a lot of lava, in the Fire Sage temple?” Kayo asked. “Can firebenders bend lava, or just earthbenders? Why is there so much lava in the Fire Nation, anyway? Shouldn’t they call it the Lava Nation?”

“Kayo,” Zin said, pressing a finger to her lips. “I can only answer your questions if you give me a chance to talk.”

Jinora chuckled. “Come straight up to the library. I’ve got some scrolls already set out. Kayo, make sure to run ahead and keep the path clear.”

“Okay!” Kayo said, bounding back before Zin could answer any questions, flipping a handstand off the railing and back onto the dock. “C’mon!”

“Let her tucker herself out,” Jinora said. “We’ll get a lot more done that way.”

“I’m not sure if parenting via spirit projection is genius or cheating,” Mian said, kicking up from the railing and headed for the gangplank.

“I still wish you’d teach me spirit projection,” Zin said. “Might be useful.

“It’s an airbender thing,” Jinora insisted.

“I think it’s a _spirity_ thing,” Zin replied. “But we’ll debate that another day. We’re on our way.”

 

\--

  


“How’s it going in here?” Pema asked, quietly depositing tea and vegetable rolls next to each of them.

Zin touched her hand, quietly thanked her. She gave him an extra little smile, just like always.

“It’s difficult to say,” Jinora said.

“Mostly because nobody wants to admit how little we have to work with,” Mian muttered.

“Well, you’re all smart kids.”

Jinora snorted. “Hardly kids anymore. How is Xiang doing, by the way?”

“Napping with her grandfather,” Pema said.

Zin smiled--Tenzin’s rocking chairs had slowly appeared all over the island, and he had a particular affinity for rocking his grandchildren to sleep in them. People had joked about the stern  and inflexible leader of the Air Nation as he’d grown up, but Zin had always known him as a gentle old man, who’d only gotten softer the longer Zin knew him.

Mian tugged Pema’s shoulder. “Do you think he’d mind if I took a picture?”

“So long as you don’t wake either of them, please do,” Pema said. “I look at everyone now, and I just wish I had more pictures from when they were younger. To see how much you’ve grown.”

“Grown…” Mian frowned, then strode to the window, looking out over the bay.

“Mian?” Jinora asked.

“You have an idea?” Zin asked. “That’s your idea frown.”

“Aang’s statue,” Mian said. “Mom said, when she did get to talk to Aang, he looked like that. That age.”

“Right…” Zin agreed, marking his place on the old scroll so he could give her his full attention.

“But Roku was old. Grey hair, long beard, all that. Then Kyoshi, before him, always looked maybe middle aged? She lived to be two hundred and fuckteen years old.”

Jinora snorted. “So you’re asking, what determines the age those Avatars appeared as?”

“Iroh,” Zin whispered.

“Hmm?” Mian came toward him, curious where his mind was going.

“The old general, who left his mortal form and lives in the Spirit World, if ‘lives’ is the right word. Every report of meeting him, he looks the same. Just like he did decades ago when he was last seen alive. Why not look like he did when he was young?”

“Maybe he was just used to looking old,” Mian said. Then her eyes went wide. “But that time Mom meditated into the Spirit World and turned into a kid!”

“Because she _felt_ scared and insecure, like a kid!” Zin said.

“That’s all well and good,” Pema said, “But what’s it have to do with Naga?”

“It’s all about self-perception,” Jinora said. “Remember that time I meditated into the Spirit World, and Meelo drew lemurs all over me?”

Mian snorted. “He what?”

Pema sighed. “Trust me, it could’ve been worse. What about it?”

“Well, in the Spirit World, I didn’t look like that at all. Because I didn’t expect to. My spirit projection represents the way my inner self understands itself. I mean, if you think about it, why does my projection even have clothes?”

“I’d rather _not_ think about it, honestly,” Pema said.

Mian stared at Jinora for a moment, then jerked her head away. “So… so… Sorry. So, the idea is, if people’s spirits in the Spirit World are shaped by their own self-perception… that can be strong enough to create at least the illusion of an entire separate creature?”

“I don’t think it’s just that,” Zin said. “Fang seemed to act independently of Roku… but he also died at the same time, and dragons are incredibly intelligent creatures, possibly of Spirit World origin themselves--”

“Ooh, _that’s_ an interesting theory!” Jinora said.

“Guys,” Mian said. “Focus. You two could ‘theory’ yourselves in circles for a week.”

Jinora rolled her eyes, conceding the point.

“Now,” Mian continued, “it seems to me, that we can read old books and scrolls forever, but if Zin’s theory is correct, the only place to find the answer is in the Spirit World itself. Maybe with Iroh, maybe with Won Xi Tong, maybe any old spirit we find that’ll talk to us.”

Zin and Jinora looked at each other. The Spirit World was vast, and unpredictable. The terrain could bend and twist around you, and was often inseparable from the spirits themselves. This wasn’t a simple matter of checking around the block for a missing pet!

Still. If they were at a dead end, here, trying out a few of their theories might be the best way to proceed…

“I’m in,” Zin said. “So, how do we want to do this?”

 

\--

 

“I can’t believe how big these trees have gotten,” Zin said, walking with Korra into a shaded portion of Naga’s park.

“Neither can Asami,” Korra said. “She says it’s literally impossible for the trees to have a sufficient root structure, but that they must be tapping into the vines coming up the east and south sides of the building.” She shrugged, then sighed. “There’s definitely a certain spiritual energy here. It makes for a great meditation spot.”

Zin nodded--he could feel it too. An energy, but not an anxious one. Like the energy of a breeze, rippling across a pond. “And you’re still… comfortable, here?”

“You mean, in Naga’s place?” Korra’s lips smiled, but her eyes did not. “It’s been nearly a year. I… I’m fine.”

Zin knew that she knew that he didn’t believe it--but he was far too polite to bring it up. “Well, it’s a much different atmosphere than at the temple I’ve been studying at. And we haven’t meditated together in ages.”

“It’s not so easy, when you’re so far away!” Korra said, pulling him into a side hug. “What are you working on, these days?”

“Thought chakra,” he said, tapping the top of his beanie.

“Oooh, looking to tap that pure cosmic energy?” Korra asked, an eyebrow raised. “Well, whether or not you manage to overcome your earthly attachments, you damned well better call more often.”

Zin chuckled. “I will, I will.” She looked down at his mom’s face, and saw the pride in her eyes, for the son she never asked for, and could not turn away.

Please… spirits, let us do this for her.

They crossed their legs, facing each other in the shade of Naga’s favorite tree, and closed their eyes.

For the vast majority of the people, if they wanted to get into the Spirit World, they had to step through one of the three portals. Given that one of them was in a major commercial hub and the other two were at the literal ends of the Earth, the Republic City portal was the most popular.

But for a studied few, there remained an older method to access the place. Accessible anywhere, but with far greater danger. Those who meditated into the Spirit World left their bodies behind, and became subject to all of its rules. The ability to travel anywhere in a flash, yes, but also the risk of being reduced to childhood or premature old age, as well as the loss of any bending. The risk of having one’s soul trapped, leaving their body in the Material World to waste away.

Like Jinora and Korra, Zin could meditate into the Spirit World this way.

Like Tenzin and Asami, Mian could not.

“Finally!” Mian said, standing up and startling a flock of dragonfly-bunny spirits. “Took you long enough.”

“I didn’t want to make her suspicious!” he said. “Especially since we have no idea this will work.”

“It’ll work,” she said, firmly. “YOU HEAR THAT, SPIRIT WORLD? THIS IS GOING TO WORK, AND THAT’S THAT.”

Zin chuckled. “Before we go… I’ve got something for you.

“Oh yeah?” she asked, adjusting her camera around her neck. “What’s that?”

Zin coughed, and she looked up--then laughed as she realized his head was level with hers. “How’d you manage that?”

“Lots of time meditating, with the Fire Sages,” he said. “Sometimes, I get curious.”

Mian gave him a lopsided grin. “Okay. How do you want to start this?”

Zin whistled, looking around. “Well, we could try to get you some transportation--you’ve got Jinora’s map to the dragonbird spirits?”

“Sure,” she said, patting her backpack. “About that though… you’re sure you want me along? I’m not spiritual at all, I’m just gonna slow you down--”

“Hey,” he interrupted, and for a moment, quite unintentionally, he was shorter still. A higher pitched voice continued, “you’re my big sister. I want to do this with you.”

Mian blinked, her eyes wide for a moment, then pulled him into a tight hug. “You’re gonna make me cry, you asshole.”

Zin chuckled, growing back up in her arms. “Alright, alright. Let’s get moving.”

  


\--

 

Zin opened his eyes. The worst part about coming out of a long meditation was the blood rushing back into his feet. People of his height were not meant to sit this way for this long.

He put off standing up--especially considering, he’d be meditating again a moment later. “Mom. Korra. Hey, mom!”

She did not move.

Zin sighed. It didn’t seem like she was in the Spirit World, just, legitimately meditating. Still, he needed her attention.

He pulled off his beanie and threw it at her. “Hey, mom.”

She cracked open an eye. “Yeah?”

“Could you hit the Spirit World with me for a minute?” he said. “I think I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough, and I’d like your thoughts.”

“Of course,” she said, tossing his beanie back then re-adjusting her pose. “Where should we meet?”

He put his beanie back on--even outside the head covering her preferred, it actually was quite chilly. “Here, for starters,” he said. “Right on the other side of the veil.”

Korra made an affirmative noise, already half out of her body.

Zin licked his lips, closes his eyes, and let his spirit flow out of his own.

They stood together, in the Spirit World, under the shade of an identical tree. The grass around them, however, went on for miles in each direction, coated with snow. No… the grass itself was _made_ of snow, soft to the touch her rippling through the breeze as if it were alive.

“Alright,” Korra said. “Let’s see it.”

“Not here,” Zin said. He held out his hand. “I’ve got a place in mind.”

She took it, and he pictured Mian. The forest he’d left her in, where the trees were crystal and small, chasable animals were plenty.  

The world _shifted_ around him, and within a breath, the air was closer, wetter, more still.

“Hi, Mom!” Mian greeted, beaming. “High, Zin.”

Korra frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“Mom,” Mian said, “we have a surprise for you. You might need to take a minute to prepa--”

A half ton of white fur pounced before Korra could hear the end of Mian’s explanation.”

“NAGA?!” Korra sobbed from underneath the polarbear dog, her fingers already clutching white fur. “Naga, girl, is it really…”

Zin stepped back, giving the two some room. On the other side of the reunion, Mian wiped her eyes, giving Zin a wink before kneeling to take some pictures.

Mama--Asami--deserved to see this, too, after all.

Zin sidled up beside Mian, putting an arm around her. “I think she likes our present.”

“You did most of it,” Mian said.

“Nobody’s keeping score,” Zin replied.

Naga flopped onto her side, and Korra was draped across her, fingers dug into fur, sobbing.

“Do you think…” Mian ducked her eyes against her sleeve again, focusing on getting more shots, “do you think we’ll be able to show Naga how to get home?”

This spot in the Spirit World was connected to a patch of tundra, somewhere in the South. Maybe where Naga had been born, maybe the place where she’d died, but either way, it was a long way from anywhere. If they could show her the field of snowy grass, if Naga and Korra knew that’s where they could find each other…

Mian had stopped taking pictures. She was covering her mouth, unable to fight off the tears.

“Hey,” Zin said, unlooping the camera strap from her neck. “You loved Naga too. Get over there.”

She didn’t argue. She let the camera go, then went to kneel beside their mother, one arm around her, another across Naga’s chest.

Zin snapped a picture of his own, then set the camera down.

He leapt back into his body for a moment--just enough to open his eyes.

There, Korra sat, her body still meditating, still peaceful. Tears poured down her smiling cheeks.

Nobody was there to see it--to cherish it--but him.

“Happy solstice, Mom,” he whispered. “I love you.”  
  
  
 _(fanart courtesy of[masterkiddojinora](https://masterkiddojinora.tumblr.com/)_

**Author's Note:**

> Combination of "Comfort" and "Naga lost in the Spirit World" prompts. 
> 
> Does this redeem me for "Puppy Dog Eyes?" Let me know!


End file.
